Denzel Washington: 'Being An Idiot Is What Compelled Me To Do My Own Stunts'

November 24th, 2010 7:18pm EST

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Denzel Washington took his life in his hands to film new action movie Unstoppable - the actor insisted on filming his own death-defying stunts.

The Training Day star appears alongside Chris Pine in the story of a runaway train, which the two men attempt to stop, and Washington is seen clambering on top of the fast-travelling carriage. The 55 year old admits his decision to tackle the dangerous move is "the stupidest thing" he's ever done for a film, but he wanted the shoot to look realistic for audiences.

He tells BBC Radio 1, "Being an idiot is what compelled me to do my own stunts. I think the audiences know when it's green screen and when it's fake and they can relax but a part of the stress that you feel... is knowing that myself and Chris Pine, we're actually the one's up there. It's like, 'Wow, it's actually dangerous!' I think that helps create some of the tension."

"Every time you see me on top of a train, that's really me. We had a stunt man did (sic) most of it but I had to do it as well. A train going 50 miles per hour and I'm running across the top of the train. It was ridiculous; it was the stupidest thing I've ever done in my life."